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Publisher's Summary

Elvis Cole is just a detective who can't say no, especially to a girl in a terrible fix. And Jennifer Sheridan qualifies: Her fiance, Mark Thurman, is a decorated L.A. cop with an elite plainclothes unit, but Jennifer's sure he's in trouble - the kind of serious trouble that only Elvis Cole can help him out of.

Five minutes after his new client leaves his office, Elvis and his partner, the enigmatic Joe Pike, are hip-deep in a deadly situation as they plummet into a world of South Central gangs, corrupt cops, and conspiracies of silence. And before the case is through, every cop in the LAPD will be gunning for a pair of escaped armed-and-dangerous killers: Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.

I have listened to all of R.C. books with various narrators and loved them all (included the newest one, The First Rule). I gave lesser stars for this work because the narrator was so awful that I abandoned the audio version for the print version.

Different narrator. Mel Foster would be good for other books, but reduces Joe Pike from everybody's personal hero to just some sidekick with a few guns. And a better-suited narrator would have helped overcome the frustrations brought on by the lead female character.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Rewrite the female lead character to be way less annoying. Being somewhat annoying is part of her charm; her draw. I get that. But when you wish you could reach through the speakers and strangle this lead character that Elvis Cole somehow has any patience for, the whole listening experience is way too frustrating. This aspect made it difficult to develop any connection with some very important characters.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mel Foster?

Luke Daniels or Robert Crais. Both do Pike as he was meant to be heard.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Free Fall?

None. I don't think there are scenes that detract from the story or slow the pace too much. Along these lines, I never choose an abridged version over an unabridged. I might feel differently about cutting scenes in terms of a 'reading' experience, but not for a 'listening' experience.

Crais was noted as a top writer of crime mysteries, but really he is not in my opinion. This is kind of like a beginners mystery. It's boring and just goes on and on. Now I did get this because I listened to the preview of his new novel on Audible and it sounded really good.

I am a great fan of Robert Crais/Elvis Cole and this is my second audio disappointment. The first book I listened to (The First Rule) was read by the author. Bad choice. This book is narrated by Mel Foster, who is NOT the right voice for the wise-cracking "World's Greatest Detective". I guess I'll stick to print versions of Robert Crais novels from now on.

This was my first Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel and it will probably be my last. Here is this ultra competent guy, Joe Pike that towards the end of the story apparently messes up so badly several people get killed. I say apparently because there is no explanation as to how it happened. It's as if the author wrote the ending first, couldn't figure out how to have Joe Pike screw up so badly, so he just left that part out.

If, unlike me, you can overlook this one major flaw the book is worth the credit and well paced with good character development.

Mel Foster does a GREAT Elvis Cole and, for as much as Joe Pike speaks, a great Joe. The writing is great, the story is well thought out and fast paced and the narration adds a wonderful dimension to the book. The Detective as Humble, well, not really, well worth the time and a credit for this one.